freeman



E. H. FREEMAN.

SELF LOCKING SIGN RECEPTACLE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 8, 1914.

l ,1 93.,Q5Q. Patented Aug. 1, 1916.

' to provide a clamp for engagement with the i To all whom it mayconcern EDGAR H. FREEMAN,;CF TBENTCN, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR T0 E. H.FREEMAN ELECTRIC COMPANY, 015 TEENTON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW-JEJRSEY. v

SELF-LOCKING SIGN-RECEPTACLE.

"Be it known that ll, EDGAR H; FREEMAN, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Trenton, in the county ofMercer and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Self-Locking Sign-Receptacles, of whichthe following isa specification.

This invention relates to an electrical sign receptacle of simple andcompact construction and characterized by embodying the desirablefeature of an automatic or self-locking connection between the twoprincipal parts or members of the receptacle. v

To thisend, the invention has in view a separable circuit-making lockingcontact which is specially applicable to that type of electrical signreceptacles comprising apair of telescoping cup members whichrespectively carry the wire terminalplates and the plug contacts, andwhich are so related as sign sheet so that other supporting or fasteningmeans are unnecessary to secure the receptacle to the sheet. I c

More specifically, the invention contemplates a novel construction ofcontacts which are completely housed between the two cup members whileat the same time providing a ratchet lock that becomes automatically andyieldingly efi'ective when thetwo cup members are telescoped and screwedtogether, thereby providing a most efi'ectual lock which preventsrelative rotation of the receptacle members, and a consequent impairmentof the electrical circuit.

With these and other objects in view, the

invention consists in the novel construction, combmat1on,and arrangementof parts as will more fully appear as the description proceeds, thenovel features thereof being pointed out in the appended claims.

'Though susceptible of structural modifi cation without departing fromthe spirit or scope of the invention, a preferred and practicalembodiment thereof is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure1 is a sectional view of a complete Specification of Letters Patent.

' receptacle, embodying the present invention,

plate. Fig. 4: is a detail perspective view of the inner cup memberexposing the ratchet Patented Aug. LTWUE. Application filed April 8,1914. Serial No. 830,450.

contact ring on the outer side of its insulating bottom piece. Fig. 5 isa perspective view partly broken away of the outer cup member, exposingthe interior reversely disposed frame contact pawls which cooperate withthe ratchet contact ring.

Like reference characters designate cor responding parts in the severalfigures of the drawings.

Tn the illustrated embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings,the sign 'receptacle includes two principal parts or members, namely aninner cup member 1 and an outer cup member 2 which are made ofporcelain, fiber or other insulating material. These two cup members areadapted to be telescopically applied, one within the other, and are alsoadapted to be clamped respectively upon opposite sides of the sign.sheet or other supporting element .S. In

this connection, it is preferable to provide one of the cup members, asfor instance the cup member 2, with a retaining lug or projection 3 atits edge for engagement with a corresponding keeper notch 4 formed inthe edge of the receptacle-receiving hole. in the sign sheet, therebyproviding a'locking expedient which prevents rotative movement orturning of the electrical receptacle within the hole of the sign sheet.

The two cup members which loosely and telescopically register in themanner shown in the drawings, are both provided with integral insulatingbottom pieces 5 and 6 respectively, between which there is providedwithin the receptacle a housing chamber 7 which serves to completelyhouse the elec trical contacts between the two receptacle members, andthus thoroughly and .efiectually protect them from weather conditions.One of these contacts is in the form of a I ratchet contact ring 8 whichis applied to the outer side of the insulating bottom piece of theinnercup member 1, and consists of a ring of sheet metal havingstruck-up or punched therefrom a circular series of inclined tonguesforming ratchet teeth 9. The said ratchet contact ring 8 is in effect auniversal contact element, and the same is rigidly held in position bymeans of the combined fastening and conducting screws 10, passingthrough the bottom piece 5 of the cup 1 and also engaged with the screwshell contact 11 seated within the socket of the cup member 1. Thesescrews therefore electrically connect the contacts 11 and 8 as well assecure such contacts in place.

The center plug contact for the receptacle consists of a singleconnecting screw 12 which is held in a central opening 13 in the bottompiece 5 by means of a jam nut 14 seated in the outer side of the bottompiece, and the projecting end of the said screw 12 extends through acenter opening 15 in the bottom piece 6 of the outer cup 2 andadjustably engages a threaded openin 16 in one of the wire terminalplates 17 tted to the outer side of the bottom piece 6 of said cupmember 2. The other wire terminal plate 18 is also fitted to the outerside of said bottom piece 6 and is of a forked construction to receivethe oppositely located conducting screws 19, which pass through and holdin position the oppositely located spring contacts 20. The pair ofspring contacts 20 is held at the inner side of the bottom piece 6 andconstitute, in combination with the contact ring 8, the separablecircuit-making locking contact between the two cup members. These springcontacts are in the form of spring plates having their free portionsoffset at an inclination from the inner side of the bottom piece 6, andwhose ends are beveled as at 21 to provide pawls or dogs over which theratchet teeth 9 yieldingly slide and engage. To permit of this ratchetaction, the opposite spring pawls 20 are reversely disposed with respectto each other.

When assembling the two cup members, it will be observed that afterpassing the screw 12 through the center hole 15 in the bottom piece 6 ofthe outer cup member and engaging it with the threaded opening 16 of theterminal plate 17, it is then only necessary to rotate the inner cupmember within the outer cup member, or vice versa, to bring the ratchetring 8 into ratchet engagement with the spring contact pawls 20. Thisrelative rotation of the two cup members is continued until they aretightly drawn together, and during this movement the pawls 20 will adaptthemselves or yield, within against relative backward rotation or in thedirection of unscrewing or loosening. The

latter can only be effected by the removal of the lamp from thereceptacle so that access may be had to the screw 12 for unscrewing thelatter sufficiently to permit ofthe ratchet rinflg and the sprlng pawlsbeing separated su ciently to become disengaged.

Changes in the form, proportion, and

minor'details of construction may be re-- sorted to without departingfrom the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the lnvention.

1 claim:

1. A sign receptacle comprising a pair of telescoping cup membersrespectively carrying the plug contacts and the wire terminal plates, anadjustable screw connection between said members, and an intermediatepawl and ratchet device rendered effective by a relative rotation of thetwo members and forming a part of the electrical circuit.

2. A self-locking sign receptacle comprising a pair of telescopingmembers carrying the plug contacts and the wire terminal plates, apivotal connection between the two members, and a pawl and ratchetconnection between the two members, said pawl and ratchet connectionbeing included in the electrical circuit. 7

3. A sign receptacle including a pair of telescoping cup members, anadjustable pivoting screw connection between said members, and a ratchetcontact connection electrically connecting and housed between the twomembers.

4. A sign receptacle including a pair of telescoping cup membersrespectlvely carrying the plug contacts and the wire terminal plates,one of the plug contacts constituting an adjustable connection betweenthe two members, a ratchet contact ring fitted to one of the cup memberswhen electrically connected with one of the plug contacts, and springcontact pawls carried by the other cup member and having a ratchetlocking intense new;

spectively engaging upon opposite sides of the supporting element, meansfor securing said members upon the supporting element by relativerotation thereof, and. locking means to prevent relative backwardmovement of said members, said locking means being included in theelectrical circuit. In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signaturein the presence of two witnesses.

' EDGAR H. FREEMAN. Witnesses:

JANE T. MGCANN, C. J. FABER.

